Street views in Provence, Bonnieux (2)

Over the years, on the many walks through small villages in Provence I took photos of street views. Some of the houses, windows and doors are beautifully decorated with flowers and plants, and I can never get past them without taking pictures.
Over the next couple of weeks, this is what I intend to share on Thursdays ....


This is the same street where I photographed last week's "number thirteen."
Looking down...


Number eleven ...

Climbing upwards towards the end of this street ...

... there is a house with a fountain.



Last year I even photographed their cat. Cats in Provence are always so photogenic!

Street views in Provence, Bonnieux

Over the years, on the many walks through small villages in Provence I took photos of street views. Some of the houses, windows and doors are beautifully decorated with flowers and plants, and I can never get past them without taking pictures.
Over the next couple of weeks, this is what I intend to share on Thursdays ....


This is a street in Bonnieux, a village in the Luberon, Vaucluse department.
Population: 1 363 people (2004)

Bonnieux is one of the most beautiful villages perched north side of the Luberon. The territory stretched from the ridges of the Luberon to the Claparèdes plateau and to the shores of Calavon river.

Click this link for a virtual visit and more photos.

Midweek Blues, Shopping at the Farmer's Market

Play along with Midweek Blues! Link your post of any interpretation of blues below. Colors, moods, music, poetry...be as creative as you like! Oh, and don't forget to visit the others and leave some love! Posted Tuesdays at 12PM EST.



I took this picture at the farmer's market in Coustellet, France.
Don't you just love the garlic stems sticking out of his shopping bag? I know I do!

Window Views, Window In Bonnieux

 

 

 

 

I found this pretty window in Bonnieux, a tiny perched village in Provence, France. Click the link above to learn more about Bonnieux, or find more pictures from this lovely village here.

 

To see more windows – and doors – from all over the world, visit Window Views, hosted by Mary the Teach

Midweek Blues, Siesta Time

 

 

 

 

I took this photo in Lourmarin, in the south of France.
Chipped paint, old wood, a rusty rain pipe, closed shutters …
… and two chairs waiting for their owners to come out when their siesta is over.
Perfect ingredients for a Provence picture.
And because of the blue paint it makes for a perfect Midweek Blues picture as well.

 

Play along with Midweek Blues. Post a picture with a little or a lot of blue in it and join the fun at the Dusty Cellar.

Sunshine and Flip Flops

Cool drinks, flip flops and a swimming pool.
Sunshine and blue skies,
smiling faces
Red poppies and lavender fields
crickets on a hot summer’s evening
French “joie de vivre” …

… that’s what’s on my mind right now.

This blog is taking a vacation.
The French Provence is waiting for me.
See you in two weeks!

Weekend Reflections, Trees at the Lake

 

This is another picture from our weekend in the Ardennes. We were on our way home when I saw this lake. My husband pulled the car over one last time so I could take a couple of pictures of reflections. It was getting late in the afternoon, close to sunset, and I absolutely love the dreamy light you get at this time of day.

 

 

More Weekend Reflections at James’ Newton Area Photo.

Weekly Winners, Walking in the Snow

 

More pictures from our weekend in the Ardennes…

 
I snapped this one from the car. No no, I was not the one driving!

We took less travelled roads to be able to pull over and take photos.  
 

 

 

The next day we made a long walk through the woods ...

 

 

… and across the fields.

 

 

 

More Weekly Winners at I am Lotus, formerly known as Sarcastic Mom’s..

Weekend Reflections, Framed …

 

This is the river Maas in Dinant. The houses and their reflection are “framed” by the bridge and her shadow.

 

Weekend Reflections is hosted by James at Newton Area Photo.

Fridays Fave Five, A Wonderful Weekend

 

Can you believe it’s Friday AGAIN? I feel like I’ve missed a couple of days this week, I can hardly believe how fast this week has gone by! It seems like only yesterday when I announced I would be away for a long weekend with my husband and here I am, one week later … 
Anyway. It IS Friday, so it’s time to look back and list five favorite things from the week that has gone by. Here we go …

The highlight of the past week is the weekend in the Ardennes with my husband no doubt. It was everything I wished it would be.
We had …
1. … just the right amount of fresh snow. Nothing as unpredictable as Belgian weather. I asked for snow … and we got snow! We never get much snow at home, so yes, it was a treat. It even snowed at the right moments! It snowed when we were in the car traveling, but we were still able to pull the car over and make photos. It snowed when we were inside having breakfast the next morning but it stopped when we wanted to go out for a long walk. We even got some blue skies near the end of the afternoon. It had stopped snowing altogether and all the roads were cleared when we set out to return home again.
2. … a lovely hotel and all the people working there were very very friendly.

3. … delicious food. Their lady chef sure knew what she was doing in her kitchen. We decided to give the restaurant a try when we arrived the first night and we did not want to eat anywhere else after that. The plates were pretty and the food was cooked to perfection. From starter to dessert, … heavenly.
4. … a very long walk on Saturday. It was good to be outside in the crisp fresh air. We were exhausted by the time we got back but the beautiful scenery was well worth the aching muscles. Nothing a good hot bath could not cure! I took a gazillion of pictures.
Yes, well … don’t I always?  
5. … a guided tour of the citadel of Dinant on Sunday. A citadel is a fortress built to defend the city against foreign intruders and I was horrified by the cruel stories of the bloody battles that have been going on there through the course of history.
After that we parked the car by the river and went looking for a place to eat. After a lovely meal in a Chinese restaurant we were ready to return home to enjoy the rest of the evening. I love to travel and be away from home, but it’s always a good feeling to have a cozy home to come home to as well. 

Look for more Fave Five posts at Susanne’s Living to Tell the Story.

Rubies in the Snow …

It was not easy to find rubies in this white Winter scenery, but I did!

The first two are from day one, when we travelled less busy roads to be able to pull the car over and take photos. The first day was very grey with lots of snow.

The second day of our trip we made a very long walk across the fields and that’s when I photographed these.

It was still snowing in the morning but by the end of the afternoon we even got some blue patches in the sky, which made it even prettier.


More Ruby Tuesday posts at Mary’s Work of the Poet.
Oh and don’t forget to visit Heavenin365, there is a new picture by me each day.

Macro Monday, Snow and Ice …

It was a lovely weekend. We got just the right amount of snow. Enough to turn the scenery in a Winter Wonderland but not TOO MUCH either. We were still able to be outside a lot to play with our cameras and ENJOY it.

I worked with both cameras, which was a great way to discover what each of them does, and doesn’t do. The first one was taken with the Canon X1-IS, which has a GREAT macro function.

This is one I took with the Big Guy, the D40. I think this should have been a little crisper. It seems to lack some of the the detail I would have gotten with the SX1- IS.

This is another one from the D40. I think I like this one better. I wish I could go back and do a make over of some of the pictures I made though!

Three days with the Big Guy was a lovely exercise. I did manage to get to know him a lot better, and that’s what matters, isn’t it?
For those new to this blog ... I just realized something.
The Big Guy is my camera, not my husband!!!

More Macro Monday at Lisa’s Chaos.
Find more pictures of this wonderful weekend on Heavenin365.
More to come in the next days …

Five Favorite Things

 

Five things I’m going to enjoy this weekend:

- The good company of my husband
- Beautiful scenery, some snow maybe? 
- Good food
- Taking lots of pictures
- Two nights in a lovely hotel 
 

We’re off to the Ardennes, a region in the Southern part of Belgium near the French border. We’ve got our cameras and we’re planning to take a lot of pictures.  
Hopefully we’ll get snow instead of rain. We’ll see.

I won’t be spending time online though.
I hope you’ll all have a great weekend, I’ll see you all again on Monday!

Weekend Reflections

 

 

Christmas decorations at the botanical garden in Chicago.

More Weekend Reflections at James’ Newton Area Photo. 

Almost Sepia … and a Door…

Is it a Window Views or a Sepia Scenes? Or both?

I mean, it’s almost a sepia, it has a door … as well as lots of windows.
And it’s definitely grainy. Sorry for that.




I photographed this gallery at the Franciscan Monastery in Washington DC.

A peaceful hidden place which is usually what I prefer to see when I travel or visit a town.
I mean, I can find the White House on Google Images, can’t I?
Besides … they’d never allow me to take pictures in there.

But there were lots and lots of photo opportunities inside the monastery when we took the guided tour…

… as well as outside.

Click the links to find more Sepia Scenes and more Window Views.

Wednesday Wisdom

 

 

"I will not die an unlived life. I will not live in fear of falling or catching fire.
I choose to inhabit my days, to allow my living to open me, to make me less afraid, more accessible, to loosen my heart until it becomes a wing, a torch, a promise.
I choose to risk my significance; to live so that which comes to me as seed goes to the next as blossom and that which comes to me as blossom, goes on as fruit."

Dawna Markova
Author of Open Mind.

 

 

Location: Chicago Botanical garden

Lighthouse, playing with the light

No lighthouse without a light, and this was a real invitation to get creative with the camera. It was fun to play with the subject a little,
using light colors and shapes

transparency and reflections

creating something that becomes an abstract painting almost ...


just using different angles. FUN!

I love that kind of photography!